Time for some food trip!
After trekking Tawi-tawi's sacred mountain, Bud Bongao, we hurried to a restaurant that offered the finest of Tawi-tawi's local delicacies. We rode a tricycle from Bud Bongao's Tourism Office to the restaurant. Despite the apparent distance of Tawi-tawi from my hometown, Cebu, tricycle designs are more or less the same.
I was surprised to learn that there's not just one but a handful of other restaurants lined up in one street offering more or less the same delicacies. I couldn't remember which restaurant we went to. I couldn't care less; I was hungry.
When you look at the world map, the Province of Tawi-tawi is nearer Brunei than it is to Manila, Philippines' Capital. This place's proximity to Brunei might be the reason why some food I tried that day tasted nothing like Filipino.
Each restaurant offered a wide array of food selections that were best for merienda. Of course, there were the usual kakanin but with a twist only you could find in Tawi-tawi. You can buy each snack item separately but you can just order the set so you can try everything they have. Expect some strange-smelling food to be served.
Some food we ordered included:
Wadjit – Wadjit is Tawi-Tawi’s version of biko
Tsikalang or Tabid-tabid – These are fried, rolled purple glutinous rice.
Pitis Patani – It’s a purple-colored rice cake with bukayo (sweetened coconut strips) filling.
I didn't memorize their names; you could never expect me to do that.🤣 I just bumped into these names in a blog narrating their food trip in Tawi-tawi, too! To be very honest, I didn't particularly love their food. I found it too hard, too dry and the food we had didn't give me what I expected of the usual Filipino merienda. I guess I was just looking for rice and some pork adobo for lunch! Or maybe, the restaurant we went to isn't the best in town. Nonetheless, I still recommend Tawi-tawi's interesting take on merienda. But don't get me wrong, you can always try their food any time of the day.
Shopping time!
After our snacks/lunch, we headed to Bongao's busiest place, their public market also known as Tabuh Bongao Public Market. Bongao is the center of trading in this part of my country and with that, you could expect it to look like Divosoria in Manila or Carbon in Cebu.
Its narrow and often unmaintained streets were crowded with people who came for their home supplies. In the absence of huge malls and shopping centers, public markets such as this one are the best source of anything you need for your home from food, clothing, and beauty products, to furniture and other services such as Pera Padala, dental services, tailoring, and other healthcare needs are all in here.
I was shocked to learn that most of the items they sell here are from either Brunei or Malaysia. Even bottled water, noodles, and other basic necessities and prime commodities are all from Malaysia/Brunei. I bought a few Malaysian noodles that I couldn't find in Cebu and beautifully dazzling pants that would save my life later on this trip.
I wandered a bit on my own without losing sight of the rest of my company. The public market is located just beside the pier; I spotted a few speedboats floating in the murky water. Just a theory, the owners of these boats were out to buy stuff that they'd bring offshore to smaller islands, either for retails or personal use.
Buying pasalubong
I'm not a huge fan of buying pasalubong every time I'm out of town, but other tourists with me were enthusiastic about buying their family members, friends, and workmates a few items.
It's been a longstanding tradition in the Philippines that if you go out of town, you should bring something, either food, clothes, or any souvenir for that matter when you go back home. I don't think it's right to assume that you'll have something from a friend returning from a trip. It's costly and seriously for backpackers like me, it's just additional baggage that I had to carry for the rest of the trip. That's torture! I'm going on a trip of a lifetime not to buy souvenirs for people who doesn't even understand why I'm traveling in the first place.
Bongao Municipal Hall
Right across the souvenir shop is the humble Municipal Hall of Bongao. When I saw it, I understood how this place might've been financially struggling with a lot of things such as solid waste management, road repair, and construction. Their municipal hall was so small that I easily mistaken it to be a mere Barangay Hall.
Balobok Rock Shelter
And just when I thought we'd covered everything, I was wrong. Ate Sheila was truly one of the best hosts I met; she ensured we'd wisely spend our remaining hours in Tawi-tawi before we headed back to Zamboanga in the afternoon.
After shopping some more, another tricycle ride took us from Bongao's busiest place to the serene Balobok Rock Shelter. It might not look like a heritage site at first glance but believe it or not, Balobok Rock Shelter is said to be one of the first settlements in Southeast Asia dating back to 8,000 years ago[]. Some archaeological items/artifacts such as "earthenware shards, polished stones, and bone tools were discovered there" [].
Sometime in 2020, about 6 months after this trip, a bill declaring Balobok Cave a national heritage site was passed with clear intentions of preserving and promoting this archaeological site. I was happy to learn that there were huge improvements in Balobok Cave right after the bill was passed. They've installed wooden walkways and a massive and sturdy staircase from atop the mountain down to the other side of the cave made exploring the cave less dangerous.
Rock Formation in Tawi-tawi
Unfortunately, I didn't get the name of the last destination we explored in Tawi-tawi. It's close to Balobok Rock Shelter/Cave, hence, Balobok Rock Formation could be its name, but I didn't get the exact name if there's any.
Nonetheless, the rock formation presented a death-defying path to the edge that would give you a better glimpse of the waves crashing below. If only we had more time, I'd definitely take a dip here. The water was crystal clear and the rock formations were the perfect spot for cliff jumping.
In no time, we were back in Ate Sheila's homestay where another set of homemade food welcomed exhausted travelers from an eventful day filled with trekking and more trekking.
Sadly, we had to pack our bags as quickly as we could and head back downtown and to the pier where we should catch the only overnight boat ride from Tawi-tawi to Zamboanga City. If we miss this boat, we're doomed!
One of my most unforgettable moments from this trip, well there were tons, but if I could choose one, it'd be driving along Tawi-tawi's airport runway. I mean, I never thought that I'd experience riding a motorcycle traversing a runway. That's insane and we did it a few times during this trip.
I have nothing but respect for Tawi-tawi's people and culture and tradition. I'm forever grateful for the circumstances in my life that led me to Tawi-tawi and the rest of the destinations I visited during this trip. Truly, everything happens for a reason.
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